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Anas discors
A small dabbling duck, a Blue-winged Teal is dwarfed by a Mallard and only a touch larger than a Green-winged Teal. Head is rounded and bill is on the large side. Breeding males are brown-bodied with dark speckling on the breast, slaty-blue head with a white crescent behind the bill, and a small white flank patch in front of their black rear. Females and eclipse males are a cold, patterned brown. In flight, they reveal a bold powder-blue patch on their upperwing coverts. Look for Blue-winged Teal on calm bodies of water from marshes to small lakes. The prairie-pothole region is the heart of their breeding range, where they thrive in grassy habitats intermixed with wetlands.
Large retention pond in a new urban park.
Spotted on Sep 29, 2013
Submitted on Oct 3, 2013
2 Comments
Thanks Marta :) thought it looked small, should have looked closer.
Sorry to say but this is not a mallard female duck. I think it could be a northern pintail female duck. for sure not mallard. Mallard females have another plumage color and the beak is usually orange, not black. Hope you can find the correct species :-)